One of New Haven’s most venerated eateries, Claire’s Corner Copia, celebrates its 40th anniversary this week with a series of events during a two-day celebration on September 16 - 17, giving back to the community that has supported them for four decades.

"New Haven is a great city for so many reasons: Yale (and, my favorite art gallery), the Shubert Theater, and other wonderful attractions. But, the best reason I love this city is because it's filled with many people who make a difference in the lives of others every day," said owner Claire Criscuolo.

When asked about what they have in store for the next forty years, Claire explained:

Starting after a little break for a week (we need a break after all the excitement of our anniversary), we are going to work on two main things: helping more people to eat healthier and lobbying to expand job opportunities here in our city through manufacturing. For this week, though, we'll be wearing party hats and eating birthday cake. And most importantly, saying ‘Thank You’ for all the wonderful people who made it possible for this ‘crazy experiment’ of bringing delicious vegetarian foods and kindness to our community become a dream come true for us.

A Brief History of Claire's

Photo c/o Claire's Corner CopiaClaire’s Corner Copia opened in 1975 as a joint venture between husband and wife team Claire and Frank Criscuolo, and is considered a pioneer in local, organic and healthy cuisine. With Claire’s background as a registered nurse guiding the restaurant’s menu selection, the Chapel Street eatery began sustainable business practices and ordering only organic foods decades before this became a common practice in the restaurant industry, and Ms. Criscuolo has since been a keynote speaker at conferences for nursing and healthy eating (including the Better Health 2015 Conference) as well as an award recipient of New England Organic Food Association. Since opening the restaurant, Ms. Criscuolo has become a fixture in the community as she has seen different generations of Yale students and local officials come through her restaurant. She is heavily involved in philanthropic efforts throughout the state of Connecticut, working closely with many local charitable organizations.

40th Anniversary Events

On Wednesday, September 16, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp will join other local officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the event. On Thursday, September 17, Claire’s will celebrate by letting customers choose prizes from a goody bag, some of which include: